Emergency Response in the Isles of Scilly | Openreach

20 Dec 2018

We’re working to keep the Isles connected

We’ve sent an emergency response team to St Agnes on the Isles of Scilly as a precaution after reports of service disruption to the island.

What’s happened?

The island’s fixed telecommunications link is provided by an undersea cable that stretches from the mainland. This cable has served the island reliably for 28 years but a recent increase in the number of faults reported by islanders indicates that it may have been damaged.

What are we doing to fix it?

We’re currently investigating the source of the cable damage and working on a long-term solution for its repair. As a precaution, an emergency response team has been mobilised to ensure St Agnes stays in contact with the mainland.

"We’re preparing for every eventuality to make sure communications to and from St Agnes are maintained during the busy festive season"

Andy Parham, Openreach’s Service Delivery Director for Wessex said: “While all residents and businesses on the island are currently connected, we’re preparing for every eventuality to make sure communications to and from St Agnes are maintained during the busy festive season.

“The people of the South West depend on us to keep them connected to their communication services. Last winter was extremely challenging weather-wise and we know there’ll be similar challenges this winter. Our aim is to minimise the impact of service disruption to customers and keep the people of St Agnes connected.”

How you can help

Anyone spotting any damage to our network following bad weather this winter, like loose, snapped or dangling cables, damaged telephone poles or missing manhole covers, can report it to Openreach by calling 0800 023 2023.